Heavenly Comfort

Jesus Christ is our only Saviour, there is no other. He gave up (surrendered) his sinless life for us, to pay our penalty. What love, what duty, what absolute Divine correctness, what indescribable devotion, what obedience.

Now, supposing that you came face to face with our Lord Jesus, what would you say to Him? What would you do? How would you react? I can tell you – you would fall at His feet and be unable to speak; the awe that you would feel, the power that you would sense would leave you speechless. You would dissolve in tears at the realisation of what this Divine being had done for you personally (and is still doing). Jesus, you see, could help anyone just be being there. His Presence is indescribable and would not be dimmed as it was during His first incarnation. He is supreme.

In this fallen world of ours, we often try to help others, as we are instructed to do in Holy Writ. You could say that there are different ways of giving assistance. The most basic is to do things for other people, the next is to speak to others with words of advice or support, but the greatest way is just to be there. Jesus was the pre-eminent example of this Higher Assistance. For Him, no words were necessary, for words get in the way and are imperfect carriers of our thoughts, being earthy. Apart from this, the highest form of help that we can give is by sincere and earnest prayer (a secret outreach). Accompanied by a belief that with God, all things are possible. Not our wish, decision or attempt at selfish spiritual satisfaction, but a deep reaching out to Almighty God, knowing that He cares for you personally and not just on an abstract level.

One thing that we have to do if we wish to help others is to withdraw from the manifest world (if only partially) for this world is governed by Satan and subject to a myriad of illusions. Jesus showed the necessity for this clearly when He fasted for 40 days in the wilderness, apart from all human activity. We may not be able to do this but we all need to reserve quiet periods in our unnecessarily busy lives. Inner strength and wisdom can only be garnered in quietness, where answers are often given to even unasked questions. The last thing that we should do is to rush around blindly trying to achieve (on our own) the impossible. We should always acknowledge that Almighty God always knows best and that we have only a limited vision and understanding. We should also not give ourselves up to a feeling of hopelessness with what appears to be intractable problems and impossible barriers. And remember the words of Jesus spoken to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My strength is made perfect in weakness”, to indicate that adversity is the pathway to endurance, and that “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried he shall receive the crown of life.” Temptation here including the desire to quit when the victory is just ahead.

My favourite ten words in all the Bible are found in the Beatitudes of the New Testament “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the Earth”, found in Matthew chapter 5. What a wonderful promise given to all those who have not given themselves over to vanity and pride, and their attendant deceits. We should not confuse meekness with weakness. To be truly meek, we have to acknowledge our true estate as part of a fallen creation, but also be aware of the transforming and healing power of Almighty God. It takes tremendous strength to be truly meek and an innate and developed wisdom. Whilst Solomon was thus endowed, he was all powerful, but he fell eventually from that exalted position.

Another quality that we need in abundance is perseverance, the ability not to give up or despair. Colloquially called stickability. As outlined partially in Rudyard Kipling’s wonderful poem “If”, Let the world laugh, it is just the sound of an hyena. To smile with God in your heart is your reward for faithfulness and courage under fire. And the Lord will preserve all those that are faithful and true. Remember the words of Deuteronomy 33:27, “The eternal God is thy refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms”. Amen